A little bit of everything and a lot of nothing: images and stories to take us on an eclectic journey. . . . . . CLICK ON THE HEADING FOR THE "SOURCE" OF THE ARTICLE AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR PHOTOGRAPHER. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VERSION.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The LaFerrari

The LaFerrari, unveiled this month in Geneva, has a V-12 engine making
789 horsepower and an electric motor making an additional 161
horsepower. A second, smaller electric motor powers the car's ancillary
systems.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Fondly dubbed the Marilyn Monroe towers by local
residents, the Absolute Towers parallel the twisting fluidity or
natural lines found in life.

This activation of flow forms an organic punctuation in the
landscape and a desire for an urban acknowledgement of
enthusiasm.

Like other suburbs in North America, Mississauga, near Toronto,
has been quickly developing into an independent, urbanized area.
Yet, the cityscape lacked a unique character. In response, MAD
wanted to add something naturalistic, delicate and human in
contrast to the backdrop of listless, boxy buildings.

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Tower of Winds, Yokohama, Japan

It was designed 20 years ago, but it is a
highly innovative form of architecture whose formal solutions and use
of technology reveal all the contemporaneity of 21st century
architecture: the Wind Tower is one of Toyo Ito's best-known projects.
It earned him the 1987 Edwin Guth Memorial Award of Excellence from
America's Illumination Engineering Society, a prestigious
acknowledgement of the strong symbolic value of this work in its urban
context.

The effect is truly original, because the reflective part can
be seen beyond the volume of the tower with its monolithic shape.The
tower is particularly spectacular at night, when the lights and neon
rings make the Wind Tower into an architecture of light.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Blueseed – A massive ship will be the Silicon Valley of the high seas

The latest project to have the interest of a number of technology firms
across the globe is the Blueseed, a floating city located in
international waters outside of Silicon Valley. Touted to be the
Googleplex of the Sea, the project is co-founded by Max Marty and Dario
Mutabdzija and lead by venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter
Thiel. The project is still in its finalisation stages with the company
deciding between either a cruise ship or a barge to convert into a
pirate island. The idea of the Blueseed project is to provide living
accommodations, working space and entertainment facilities for
approximately 1,000 customers paying between $1,200 and $3,000 each per
month.

The vessel will reportedly be stationed 12 nautical miles from the coast
of California, in international waters. This proximity to Silicon
Valley is what is attracting non US start-up entrepreneurs as it will
give them the opportunity to work so close to Silicon Valley without a
US work visa. Through a tourist or a business Visa you can then easily
travel to the mainland if the need arises or you can keep working on the
Blueseed till your company grows large enough to make Silicon Valley
its headquarters.

A fourth-floor unit in the Laguna Woods Village retirement
community's The Towers complex failed to sell in recent months even
though the owners were asking just a buck for the property.

The condo quietly came off the market without a buyer, said listing agent Cathy Flores of Century 21 Award.

Flores, who no longer represents the owners, said she doesn't know
what their plans are for the condo. But while the listing failed to
sell, it wasn't due to a lack of interest.

"I spoke to over 200 people. Most were not qualified," Flores said.
"I had people call from Egypt. ... Out of everyone who called, there
were only three viable, interested people."

Most people balked when told the condo is in a 55-plus retirement community, Flores added.

Some would-be buyers – many calling from out of state – either wanted
to buy the condo as a vacation home or to use it as a rental, she said.
Those uses were not possible for most of the callers because of the
55-year-old minimum age requirement.

Some people also didn't understand that they'd have to pay closing
costs as part of the transaction, as well as substantial monthly
homeowner association fees.

The condo's tiny size and large homeowners association dues turned off other potential buyers, Flores said.

The condo is 500 square feet and has homeowners association dues of
$1,718 a month. The dues include one meal a day and maid service.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank, now the world's largest, settled with the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. to resolve claims that subsidiary MortgageIT sold shaky
loans to IndyMac Bank, which imploded under the weight of risky
mortgages and construction loans. The FDIC collected $54 million from
the settlement three years ago but never issued a news release to
announce it. Above, the Deutsche Bank towers in Frankfurt, Germany.

Since its completion in 1980, Bob Hope and his family owned a
well-known Palm Springs mansion fit for a king (or as some would argue
... an alien?). Now, the extravagant residence that used to belong to
America's favorite star officially hit the market. Listed by Ann Eysenring of Partners Trust in Beverly Hills and Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith of Windermere Real Estate
in Palm Springs, Hope's legendary home is up for grabs at an asking
price of $50 million. And judging by the sheer wow-factor of the home
and its interiors, we think the hefty price tag does the colossal space
justice.

The house is nothing short of magnificent. Built at the tail end of
the 1970s, the massive, sweeping structure was designed by John Lautner,
an influential American architect whose work has been regularly
characterized as possessing a "space-age flair"-- which probably
explains the mansion's UFO feel. The estate is perched atop Southridge
with a 360 view overlooking the entire Coachella Valley, among other
natural Southern Californian wonders. Covering 22,000 square feet, the
list of luxurious amenities includes a pool, pond, tennis court, outdoor
fireplace, 360 degree views and more.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

The Veneno is reported to mark Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, and will
be built in a production run of just three, each with a price tag of
around $4.6 million and each one bearing a color of the Italian flag
(green, white or red). And no, Richie Rich, you can't have one, because
all three are already sold.

Monday, March 04, 2013

Frank Gehry

Whoa: starriest starchitect Frank Gehry is designing a 22-story tower on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, according to plans submitted today. The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that the tower will house a 125-room hotel and 22 condos,
plus two stories of retail and restaurants, and a three-floor
subterranean parking garage with 460 spaces. But wait! There's more. A
36,000-square-foot art museum, incorporating two
landmarked structures, is planned for next door. Finally, there are also
plans for a separate apartment building on Second Street to meet the
project's affordable housing requirement (and replace 19 rent-controlled
units that would be lost to the development). The project is being
developed by M. David Paul Associates--which owns the site--and the
Worthe Real Estate Group. *The tower would not actually be taller than
the 21-story building recently proposed for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel site--despite having one more story, it would come in about 18 feet shorter.

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Australian International Airshow

An aerobatics team performs during the Australian International Airshow
in Melbourne, Australia, March 1, 2013. The airshow is expected to have
180,000 patrons through the gates over the duration of the event staged
at the Avalon Airfield.

About Me

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you will find it interesting. "This and That and More of the Same" strives to show images that are striking along with intriguing human interest stories. The "Memories" blog displays images of family while "Why Ask For the Moon When We Have the Stars" is devoted to friends.